QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Assignment 2
Group members :
1.Mastura binti Muhamad Muktar
2.Nor Azize binti Ayob
3.Noraliza binti Ali
Qualitative Research

Definition

A type of educational research in which the researcher relies on the views of

participants, asks broad, general questions, collects data consisting largely
of words (or text) from participants, describes and analyses these words for
themes, and conducts the inquiry in a subjective, biased manner.
(Cresswell, 2008)

Purpose To understand and interpret social

interactions
Characteristics of qualitative research

Sample Smaller and not randomly selected

Variables Study of the whole, not variables

Type of data
collected Words, images, objects
Characteristics of qualitative research

Forms of
Qualitative data such as open-ended
data
responses, field notes, reflections
collected

Results Particular or specialized findings that is

less generalizable

Narrative report with contextual

Final report description and direct quotations from
research participants
3 main methods of data collection in qualitative research

Interactive People asked to verbally described their

interviewing experiences of phenomenon

Written
description People asked to write descriptions of
by their experiences of phenomenon
participants

Observation Descriptive observations of verbal and

non-verbal behavior
Strengths of qualitative research

1.Issues can be examined in detail and in depth

2.Interviews are not restricted to specific questions and can
be guided by the researcher in real time
3.The research framework and direction can be quickly
revised as new information emerges
4.The data based on human experience that is obtained is
powerful and sometimes more compelling than quantitative
data
Limitations of Qualitative Research

1.Collection of qualitative data is generally more time

consuming
2.Difficult to generalize because fewer people are generally
studied. Usually exact numbers are reported rather than
percentages
3.Dependent on skills of the researcher – particularly in the
case of conducting interviews, focus groups and observation
 1

Ethnographic
study

5 2

Phenomenology Case study

Types of
qualitative
research

4 3
Action research Historical
research
Ethnographic Study
Ethnographic study
Definition

A form of research that ask a question about a social an cultural practices of a

group of people – ethnographers (researcher) study the lived experiences, daily
activities and social context of everyday live from the perspectives of those beings
studied to gain an understanding of their life world. Ethnographers provide holistic
understandings of people’s everyday lives, which mean that ethnographers strive to
describe and analyze systematic connection between domains of social life such as
religion, economy and kinship – Buch and Staller (2007)

Explore and
understand the
Study of people Ethnographic culture from the
and culture study point of view of
the subject of
the study
Also
called
fieldwork
Important concept of ethnographic study

The researcher
need to involve
directly into the As an
As a member
community observer
they are
studying

Experience the life Explore the cultural

style of the subject phenomena from the
by themselves perspective of the subject

 Often for
long periods
of time
The purpose of the ethnographic study

Ethnographic
study

To close up the distance between an outsider's

interpretation (the etic perspective) of social order
and the real meaning of life experience to those
under study (the emic perspective)
The process in ethnographic study – in the field
Data collection methods

How the
researcher Informal
Observation
collect the interview
data?

Observe and
Conversation and
record – notes,
informal interview
pictures, audio
with the subject
tape, video tape

The data that collected must be analyzed to extract the

meaning and function of community behavior and reported
in the form of description and verbal explanation
Characteristics of ethnographic study

Ethnographic study

7 characteristics :

Descriptive Documents
Conducted in Done within
and native
natural setting the field site
interpretive perspective

Provide holistic and Guided by general Focus on meaning of

systematic overview research questions, words and images
of the context not hypothesis rather than numbers
Advantages of ethnographic study

Provide
Observe
extensive and
human
in-depth
behaviors in
findings about
their natural
human
environment
behavior

Evolve and
explore new
lines of inquiry
Limitations of ethnographic study

Take too much Difficult to

Hard to digest make an
time and ‘thick data’
expensive absolute
generalization

Depends on
Difficult to
the The bias of the check the
researcher’s researcher validity of the
observations remains researcher’s
and
conclusion
interpretations
 Good Good in
intrapersonal Able to live in
and difficult and
interpersonal different
communication situation

Able not to
make a
judgment
Able to make
extra analysis
Able to leave
Have a good
personal
memory
interest (bias)
Example of the ethnographic study
A case study is a report about a person, group, or
situation that has been studied.
A case study unit may include a single person, a group
of people, an organisation or an institution
•In most cases, a case study method selects a small
geographical area or a very limited number of
individuals as the subjects of study.
•If the case study, for instance, is about a group, it
describes the behaviour of the group as a whole, not
the behaviour of each individual in the group
Definitions
Yin (1984:23) defines the case study research method
“as an empirical inquiry that investigates a
contemporary phenomenon within its real-life
context; when the boundaries between phenomenon
and context are not clearly evident; and in which
multiple sources of evidence are used.”

Yin, R., (1994). Case study research: Design and methods

(2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publishing.
Types of case studies
single-case design
 Events are limited to a single
occurrence.
 a social study on the effects of the
collapse of Highland Towers in
Kuala Lumpur in the 1990s
 The effects of tsunami in Acheh
in 2004
 its inability to provide a
generalising conclusion, in
particular when the events are
rare.
 One way of overcoming this is
by triangulating the study with
other methods in order to
confirm the validity of the
process.
multiple-case design,
Adopted with real-life
events that show numerous
sources of evidence through
replication rather than
sampling logic.
Results. This helps raise the
level of confidence in the
robustness of the method.
For examples:
The Study of Claims Arising
from Building Collapses:
Case Studies from Malaysia,
Nigeria, Singapore and
Thailand
Embedded case study
An embedded case study is
a case study containing
more than one sub-unit of
analysis (Yin, 2003).

Similar to a case study, an

embedded case study
methodology provides a
means of integrating
quantitative and
qualitative methods into a
single research study
(Scholz & Tietje, 2002; Yin
2003).
Category of case study
1. EXPLORATORY CASE STUDIES
Researcher explore any phenomenon in the data which
serves as a point of interest to the researcher.
For instance, a researcher conducting an exploratory
case study on individual’s reading process may ask
general questions, such as, “Does a student use any
strategies when he reads a text?” and “if so, how
often?”.
These general questions are meant to open up the door
for further examination of the phenomenon observed.
Category of case study
2. DESCRIPTIVE CASE STUDIES
to describe the natural phenomena which occur
within the data in question,
 For instance, what different strategies are used by a
reader and how the reader use them.
The goal set by the researcher is to describe the data
as they occur.
Category of case study
3. EXPLANATORY CASE STUDIES

examine the data closely both at a surface and deep

level in order to explain the phenomena in the data.
For instance, a researcher may ask the reason as
towhy a student uses an inferencing strategy in
reading
Case Study cont. : Data collection
strategies

direct observation,
 interviews,
 documents,
archival records,
participant observation,
physical artifacts
audiovisual materials.
Analysis of themes, or issues and an
interpretation of the case by the researcher.
TRIANGULATION : involves using multiple data sources in
an investigation to produce validity
There are different kinds of triangulation
(ways of “trapping the answers”):

Methodological (different types of research

methods)
Data (different types of data, or replication)
Investigator (using more than one), and
Theoretical (using different theoretical
frameworks).

30
A lot of detail to be collected that would not normally be easily
obtained by other research designs.
 The data collected is normally a lot richer and of greater depth
than can be found through other experimental designs.
Case studies tend to be conducted on rare cases where large
samples of similar participants are not available.
Within the case study, scientific experiments can be conducted.
Case studies can help experimenters adapt ideas and produce
hypotheses which can be used for later testing.
Drawback
The data collected cannot necessarily be generalised to the
wider population.
This leads to data being collected over longitudinal case
studies not always being relevant or particularly useful.
Case studies are generally on one person, but there also
tends to only be one experimenter collecting the data.
This can lead to bias in data collection, which can
influence results more than in different designs.
It is also very difficult to draw a definite cause/effect from
case studies.
Example of case study
1.Example 1
2.Example 2
3.Example 3
 Systematic collection and
evaluation of data related to past
occurrences for the purpose of
describing causes, effects, or
trends of those events

HISTORICAL
RESEARCH
Characteristics

No manipulation or control of any

variables
Uses pertinent documents, relics, and
other data sources
Description and analysis of data
Interpretive in nature
The Purposes of Historical Research
 To make people aware of what has happened in the
past in order to:
 Learn from past failures and successes
 Apply them to present-day problems
 Make predictions
 Test hypotheses concerning relationships or trends
 Understand present educational practices and policies more
fully
Steps Involved in Historical Research
1. Defining the Problem
2. Locating relevant sources
1. Documents
2. Numerical records
3. Oral statements
4. Relics
3. Summarizing information obtained from
historical sources
4. Evaluation of historical sources
1. Internal criticism
2. External criticism
Categories of Sources
 Documents
 Written or printed materials that have been produced in
some form or another.
 Numerical records
 Considered as a separate type of source in and of
themselves or as a subcategory of documents.
 Oral Statements
 Are stories or other forms of oral expression that leave a
record for future generations.
 Relics
 Are any objects whose physical or visual characteristics
can provide some information about the past.
Advantages and Disadvantages
of Historical Research
 Advantages  Disadvantages
 Permits investigation  Cannot control for
of topics and questions threats to internal
that can be studied in validity
no other fashion  Limitations are
imposed due to the
content analysis
 Researchers cannot
ensure representation
of the sample
Example of historical study
1.Example 1

2.Example 2
 Action
Research
What is Action Research?
 Action research is a process in which participants
examine their own educational practice systematically
and carefully, using the techniques of research.
 based on the following assumptions:
i) Teachers and principals work best on problems
they have identified for themselves
ii) Teachers and principals become more
effective when encouraged to examine and
assess their own work and then consider ways
of working differently
iii) Teachers and principals help each other by
working collaboratively
iv) Working with colleagues helps teachers and
principals in their professional development
What is Not Action Research?

 Action research is not usually comes to

mind when we hear the word “research.”

 Action research is not a library project

where we learn more about a topic that
interests us.

 It is not problem-solving in the sense of

trying to find out what is wrong, but rather
a quest for knowledge about how to
improve.
 Action research is not about doing research
on or about people, or finding all available
information on a topic looking for the correct
answers. It involves people working to
improve their skills, techniques, and
strategies.

 Action research is not about learning why we

do certain things, but rather how we can do
things better. It is about how we can change
our instruction to impact students.
Individual
Teacher
Research

Types of
Action
Research

District-wide
Research
 Individual Teacher Research – usually focuses on a
single issue in the classroom.

 Collaborative Action Research – may include as few

as two teachers or a group of several teachers and
others interested in addressing in a classroom or
department issue.

 School-wide Research – focuses on issue common

to all.

 District-wide Research – far more complex and

utilizes more resources, but the rewards can be
great. Issues can be organizational, community-
based, performance-based or processes for decision
making.
 Individual Collaborative School-wide District-wide
teacher action action action
research research research research
Single classroom Single classroom School issue problem, District issue
Focus issue or several or area of collective organizational
clasroom interest structures

• Coach/mentor • Substitute • School commitment • District commitment

• Access to teachers • Leadership • Facilitator
Possible technology • Release time • Communication • Recorder
support • Assistance • Close link with • External partners • Communication
with data administrators • External partners
needed organization
and analysis
• Curriculum • Curriculum • Potential to impact • Allocation of
• Instruction • Instruction school restructuring resources
• Assessment • Assessment and change • Professional
Potential • Policy • Policy development
impact • Parent involvement activities
• Evaluation of • Organizational
programs structures
• Policy
• Practice • Improved • Improved • Improved
informed by collegiality collegiality, collegiality,
data • Formation of collaboration, and collaboration, and
Side • Information not partnerships communication communication
effects always shared • Team building • Team building
• Disagreements on • Disagreements on
process process
• Shared vision
 IDENTIFY
THE
PROBLEM COLLECTING
DATA
NEXT
STEPS Steps in
Action Steps in Action
Research

EVALUATE Research INTERPRET

DATA
RESULTS

ACT ON
EVIDENCE
1. Identify a Problem Area
There are several criteria to consider before investing
the time and effort in “researching” a problem. The
question should:
 be a higher-order question- not a yes/no
 be stated in common language, avoiding jargon
 be concise
 be meaningful
 not already have an answer
2. Gather Data
The collection of data is an important step in deciding what
action needs to be taken. Multiple sources of data are used
to better understand the scope of happenings in the
classroom or school.

WAYS TO COLLECT DATA

interviews portfolios diaries

journals videotapes surveys

memos checklist Audio tapes

questionnaires photos diaries

3. Interpret Data
Analyze and identify major themes. Depending upon
the question, teachers may wish to use classroom
data, individual data or subgroup data. Some of the
data are quantifiable and can be analyzed without the
use of statistics or technical assistance.
4. Act on Evidence
Using the information from the data collection and
review of current literature, design a plan of action
that will allow you to make a change and to study
that change. It is important that only one variable be
altered
5. Evaluate Results
Assess the effects of the intervention to determine if
improvement has occurred. Is there is improvement,
do the data clearly provide the supporting evidence?
If no, what changes can be made to the actions to
elicit better results?
6. Next Steps
As a result of the action research project,
identify additional questions raised by the data
and plan for additional improvements,
revisions and next steps.
Guide Questions
1. What was my concern?

2. Why was I concerned?

3. What could I do?

4. What could help me?

5. What did I do?

6. How can I evaluate my work?

Benefits of Action Research
1. Focus on school issue, problem or area of collective
interest.

2. Form of teacher professional development.

3. Collegial interactions.

4. Potential to impact school change.

5. Reflect on own practice.

6. Improved communications.
EXAMPLE OF ACTION
RESEARCH
Ms. Wong, a third-grade teacher, finds her class continually
interrupted by a student who can’t seem to keep quiet. Distressed,
she asks herself what she can do to control this student and wonders
if some kind of time out activity might work. Accordingly, she asks:

1. Would brief periods of removal from the class decrease the

frequency of this student’s disruptive behavior?

2. What might Ms. Wong do to get an answer to her question?

 This sort of question can best be answered by means of a single-subject
A-B-A-B design. First, Ms. Wong needs to establish a baseline of the student’s
disruptive behavior. Hence, she should observe the student carefully over a
period of several days, charting the frequency of the disruptive behavior.
Once she has established a stable pattern of the student's behavior, she
should introduce the treatment – in this instance, time-out, or placing the student
outside the classroom for a brief period of time –for several days and observe the
frequency of the student’s disruptive behavior after the treatment periods. She then
should repeat the cycle.
 Ideally, the student’s disruptive behavior will decrease and
Ms. Wong will no longer need to use a time-out period with this
student.
The main problem for Ms. Wong is being able to observe
and chart the student’s behavior during the time-out period and yet
still teach the other students in her class. She may also have
difficulty making sure the treatment (time-out) works as intended
(e.g., that the student is not wandering the halls). Both of these
problems would be greatly diminished if she had a teacher's aide to
assist with these concerns.
DIFFERENCES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

METHOD FOCUS SAMPL DATA COLLECTION DATA ANALYSIS

E SIZE
ETHNOGRAPHY CONTEX OR CULTURE • OBSERVATIONS • DESCRIPTION
• INTERVIEW • ANALYSIS
-
• INTERPRETAT
ION
CASE STUDY ORGANIZATION, ENTITY, • INTERVIEW • DESCRIPTION
INDIVIDUAL OR EVENT • DOCUMENTS • THEMES
-
• REPORT • ASSERTIONS
• OBSERVATION
HISTORICAL IDENTIFICATION, LOCATION, • DOCUMENTS • EXTERNAL
STUDY EVALUATION & SYNTHESIS • RELICS CRITISM
-
OF DATA FROM PAST • ARTIFACTS • INTERNAL
CRITISM
ACTION CLASSROOM, DEPARTMENT, • JOURNAL, • ANALYSIS
RESEARCH ORGANIZATION, VIDEOTAPES, IDENTIFICATI
COMMUNITY, PERFORMANCE SURVEYS, ON
OR PROCESS INTERVIEWS, • QUANTITIABL
- PORTFOLIOS, E-
DIARIES, MEMOS, STATISTICS /
CHECKLIST, TECHNICAL
AUDIOTAPES, ASSISTANCE
QUESTIONN